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Official home of ATO RecordsTue, 03 Mar 2015 21:05:56 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1ATO’s Best of 2014 Mentionshttp://atorecords.com/uncategorized/atos-best-of-2014-mentions/
http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/atos-best-of-2014-mentions/#commentsWed, 17 Dec 2014 20:58:20 +0000http://atorecords.com/?p=8147We’re thrilled to have received shoutouts in a number of 2014’s best of the year lists! Thanks for all of the support this year – we’re already gearing up for an awesome 2015. Check out some of ATO’s year-end mentions below:

“Grand Canyon”, Favorite Songs of 2014, NPR – “this elegy … nods to the difficulty of letting go while providing a way to do it.”

“The Part of Him”, #14 The Best 40 Country Songs of 2014, SPIN – “The highlight of this amazing band’s best album in six years is as vituperative with political outrage as anything Drive-By Truckers have ever laid down.”

Also mentioned in:

#17 Top 50 Songs of the Year, American Songwriter

Top 50 Albums of 2014, American Songwriter

The 50 Best Albums of 2014, Paste

#5 Best Southern Albums of the Year, Bitter Southerner

Top 20 Albums of 2014, Fox Sports

#4 Best Albums of 2014, Twangville

25 Best Albums of 2014, Slant Magazine

—

Hurray for the Riff Raff

“The Body Electric”, #1 of the Top 50 Songs of 2014, American Songwriter – “Alynda Lee Segarra takes more than 100 years of murder ballads to task on this standout.”

“The Body Electric”, Favorite Songs of 2014, NPR – “The Political Folk Song of the Year”

Top 50 Albums of 2014, American Songwriter – “Make My Head Sing is still equally as honest as Mayfield’s past releases.”

“Do I Have The Time”, Favorite Songs of 2014, NPR – “[Mayfield]… bursts out of her former Americana mold with a visceral, blood on the lips fury, dreamy flanged guitars and gnarled squelches of distortion.”

Also mentioned in:

“Seein* Starz”, Songs You Need to Hear Before 2014 Ends, Flavorwire

#14 Best Southern Albums of the Year, Bitter Southerner

Most Overlooked Albums of 2014, Huffington Post

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Old 97’s

“Longer Than You’ve Been Alive”, #20 50 Best Songs of 2014, Rolling Stone – “These alt-country vets get real about what it’s like to be a band for 20+ years in this wry lament.”

“Longer Than You’ve Been Alive”, #6 40 Best Country Songs of 2014, SPIN – “The greatest rock country band in the universe”

Also mentioned in:

“Longer Than You’ve Been Alive”, #8 Top 50 Songs of 2014, American Songwriter

#2 Best Country Albums of 2014, Huffington Post Canada

Best of 2014 Staff Picks, WFUV

#8 Best Southern Albums of the Year, Bitter Southerner

Top 50 Albums of 2014, American Songwriter

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Old Crow Medicine Show

“Sweet Amarillo”, #9 Top 50 Songs of 2014, American Songwriter – “Wild and wooly, the song is truer to the spirit of The Basement Tapes than, for example, the ‘New Basement Tapes’.”

#1, The Best Americana of 2014, PopMatters – “With ‘Remedy’, Old Crow have delivered an album embracing all kinds of human experience … one can only hope that Bob keeps sending boxes of fragments their way.”

Also mentioned in:

“Sweet Amarillo”, 50 Best Songs of 2014, Rolling Stone

Top 50 Albums of 2014, American Songwriter

“Sweet Amarillo”, 50 Best Songs of 2014, Paste Magazine

“Sweet Amarillo”, #6 Stephen Deusner’s Top 10 Tracks: The Year in Music 2014, Pitchfork

“The idea was to combine the Frog Brigade and Primus, and do this record,’ says Claypool. I think like a good portion of the planet, we were all pretty put off by the remake of the ‘Willy Wonka’ movie – the Tim Burton version. I really wanted to pay homage to a film [1971’s ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’ starring Gene Wilder] that was very important to me as a kid and very influential to me musically. So that’s what we did. And as opposed to just going in and recording the songs and playing them the way they are in the film, we twisted them up a bit…twisted them up a lot.”

It felt so good, in fact, that he decided to take Primus into the studio to prepare the soundtrack for an album release. Claypool admits that he’s always, “in some way, wanted to be Willy Wonka,” and, also, that he’s always wanted to work a cover of “The Candyman” — a memorable number from the film’s soundtrack — into Primus sets.

With the album dropping on October 21, Primus plans to tour the Chocolate Factory beginning the very next day. “We’re going to do some touring with it and we put together this pretty abstract stage production,” says Claypool, “We’re going to take it out there, around the planet, and see what happens. And, in light of the record business being gutted by the internet, we’ve made some PRIMUS brand chocolate bars to peddle as well.”

Of course, Claypool realized that it was risky business to adapt a cinematic classic that is so close to so many people’s hearts. And, naturally, he realized that it was dangerous waters to swim in the wake of Gene Wilder, who portrays Willy Wonka in the original film. The band pulls it off by making something that is truly their own, without taking anything away from the movie.

“Our project is an homage to Gene Wilder and David L. Wolper’s, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the effect it had on me in my youth,” spouts Les, “Now we get to sell PRIMUS bars and hang out with demented Oompa Loompas. Plus to top it off, it gives me an excuse to wear a purple, velvet waistcoat and brown top hat for the next 18 months.”

http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/new-album-primus-the-chocolate-factory-out-today/feed/0STARS Announce New Album ‘No One Is Lost’ (Out Oct. 14) and Headlining Tourhttp://atorecords.com/uncategorized/stars-announce-new-album-no-one-is-lost-out-oct-14-and-headlining-tour/
http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/stars-announce-new-album-no-one-is-lost-out-oct-14-and-headlining-tour/#commentsThu, 28 Aug 2014 18:27:19 +0000http://atorecords.com/?p=7671NPR Music Premieres First New Song “From The Night:” http://shorefi.re/XWHlbJ

STARS have confirmed the October 14 release of their new album ‘No One Is Lost’ (ATO Records) and a headlining North American tour, including shows at NYC’s Modern Sky Festival plus dates in DC, Boston, Chicago and more (full schedule below). The follow-up to 2012’s ‘The North,’ ‘No One is Lost’ is comprised of 11 original songs and was produced by STARS and Liam O’Neil (Metric, The Stills). NPR Music premiered “From The Night,” the lead track off the record, calling it “a misnomer to describe a song about embracing darkness as ‘sunny,’ but its silver linings – “Let’s be young / Let’s pretend that we never will die” – are as insistent as the propulsive thump of the chorus.” Listen here.

“From The Night” revels in the chances you take and the loves you make or break on any given evening. Lead singer/songwriter Torquil Campbell explains, “I always find it so moving and beautiful to watch people have their nights out. There’s something so heartbreaking about it. People have jobs that they have to get up for, jobs they hate, and they live for the weekend; they live for these moments. And they put everything they have into it.”

For ‘No One Is Lost,’ STARS craved autonomy, and serendipitously inherited the Mile End rehearsal space last December above the now defunct, Royal Phoenix nightclub in Montreal. STARS built a functional studio out of the former space of then-disbanding Handsome Furs (and site of Arcade Fire’s first rehearsals); Mile End became a home away from home. Then the nightclub (and life) crept in, resulting in STARS’ most urgent record to date. Drummer Pat McGee explains, “The sub-bass throb coming from the club below our studio was undeniably and unavoidably influential. It motivated us to out-throb the throb.”

“This record’s called ‘No One Is Lost’ because that is a fucking lie,” says Torquil. “We are all lost, we are all going to lose this game and, as you get older, you lose people more and more. I just wanted to close my eyes and jump and hope that was true. Life is loss, love is loss. And loving people is about accepting that you’re going to have to say goodbye to them. And that’s why it’s fucking brave. That’s STARS ethos: this life is very heartbreaking and sad… so let’s get completely fucking arseholed and listen to some Dionne Warwick.”

‘No One Is Lost’ translates all that anxiety into pure ecstasy, from the laser-cut new-waved precision of Millan’s “This Is the Last Time” to the soaring, Mozzerific chorus of Campbell’s “Trap Door,” to the dreamy duet “Look Away.” And the titanic title track – the sound of a dancefloor being swallowed whole by an ocean of sweat and swapped spit – feels like the moment STARS entire 15-year journey has been leading up to, a euphoric house banger that distills all the hope, fear, joy, sadness, and sex in the band’s songbook into a pair of unshakeable mantras: “put your hands up because everybody dies / put your hands up if you know you’re going to lose.”

]]>http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/stars-announce-new-album-no-one-is-lost-out-oct-14-and-headlining-tour/feed/0Old Crow Medicine Show Touring West in Septemberhttp://atorecords.com/uncategorized/old-crow-medicine-show-touring-west-in-september/
http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/old-crow-medicine-show-touring-west-in-september/#commentsThu, 14 Aug 2014 19:22:54 +0000http://atorecords.com/?p=7720Old Crow Medicine Show continues to tour on the heels of their critically acclaimed new album Remedy, with dates approaching in the Southeast and West Coast this September, with dates in the Midwest and UK following in October. New Orleans based band The Deslondes, who have toured previously with Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers, and others, will be supporting through September.

See below for updated tour dates – tickets are available on Old Crow’s website - and check out the video for “Sweet Amarillo”:

9/12 – Midwest City, OK @ Rose State Performing Arts Theatre ^

9/13 – Albuquerque, NM @ KIVA Auditorium^

9/14 – Mesa, AZ @ Ikeda Theater^

9/14 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl^

9/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern Theater^

9/19 – Monterey, CA @ Golden State Theater^

9/20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic^

9/22 – Reno, NV @ Cargo at Whitney Peak Hotel^

9/23 – Bend, OR @ Century Center^

9/24 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall^

9/26 – Seattle, WA @ The Paramount Theatre^

9/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre^

9/30 – Missoula, MT @ Adams Center^

10/2 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre^

10/3 – Madison, WI @ Overture Hall^

10/19 – Manchester, UK @ Ritz*

10/20 – Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street*

10/21 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall*

10/22 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 ABC*

10/24 – London, UK @ Roundhouse*

10/26 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso*

11/14 – Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace

11/21 – Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre

11/22 – Chattanooga, TN @ Memorial Auditorium

^ With The Deslondes

* With Parker Millsap

]]>http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/old-crow-medicine-show-touring-west-in-september/feed/0J. Roddy Walston & The Business Announce Spring Tour with Foals and Cage The Elephanthttp://atorecords.com/uncategorized/j-roddy-walston-the-business-announce-uk-dates-spring-tour-with-foals-and-cage-the-elephant/
http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/j-roddy-walston-the-business-announce-uk-dates-spring-tour-with-foals-and-cage-the-elephant/#commentsWed, 22 Jan 2014 23:46:18 +0000http://atorecords.com/?p=6751“J. Roddy Walston and the Business … comes off like a more polished White Stripes or an edgier My Morning Jacket” – Time Out New York

Best known for their live shows, we are thrilled to announce J. Roddy Walston & The Business’s upcoming string of tour dates, including a spring run with Foals and Cage the Elephant set to begin April 21st.

Melting all manner of stereotypes into an as-yet-unnamed breed of New American, each of J. Roddy Walston & The Business’s live performances finds hipsters hugging Teamsters and sweating till it hurts, and art-school cynics and metalheads screaming out every lyric in some gorgeously desperate attempt to connect. There seems to be a competition between the band and the crowd as to who will give more each night.

In addition to their epic performances, the band’s relentless rock single “Heavy Bells” has been charting at alternative radio for five months with a peak position of #12 this week. It has also spent five consecutive months on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and is not letting up any time soon. For a peek into their recording habits, out this previously unreleased footage of the band in producer/engineer Mark Neill (The Black Keys) own Soil of the South Studios

Already regarded as one of today’s most progressive and innovative acts, Umphrey’s McGee released their ATO-debut Death By Stereo this Fall, an album that cements their status as one of rock’s most audacious forces in the studio.

Death By Stereo is a lethal musical gumbo stewed by the Chicago-based bands seemingly telepathic six members, who Entertainment Weekly calls “Consummate musical alchemists, deftly reconfiguring sounds from rock’s vast panoply of styles.”

Death By Stereo finds the groups’ feet firmly entrenched in hard-hitting rock while still exploring radical new territories: Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones romp on Wellwishers, Black Keys-style blues on Domino Theory, and horns-infused 70s funk on Booth Love. Conduit delivers the type of dual-guitar fireworks that Umphrey’s has become known for and Miami Virtue is an upbeat, kaleidoscopic blend of Phoenix and Pink Floyd.

“Going acoustic and dressing in black charro outfits is probably the punkest move they could have taken; El Bronx negotiate in exactly the same way as The Bronx – they don’t. They fear nothing, explore everything and create from the rawest of emotion, making imperfections the very best bits.”—NME

“I don’t want to make a mariachi record,” guitarist Joby J. Ford said to vocalist Matt Caughthran when songwriting began for what would become the 3rd eponymously titled LP from Los Angeles’ Mariachi El Bronx. The singer responded aptly with a pensive “I don’t either,” and a tone was seemingly set.

The next few months saw the band scrapping more material then they kept. It’s an interesting time when an artist, which had previously re-imagined its sound once (see American hardcore punk band, The Bronx), attempts to re-imagine their signature sound yet again. On (III) the focus to excel as a tradition ensemble have disappeared. The teetering of can or cannot is brazenly disregarded and the genre playbook sits idly next to the instruments it used to command – dusty and unread.

This time around the band approached writing from a different direction. They dusted off old sequencers, synths, and an ARP and began to create soundscapes they would tack their music against – hammering and bending parts against each other in order to create a harmonious environment. Energized by this fusion of traditional melodies and modern ambience the band decided to follow the imaginary rabbit down its hole and embraced the sonic mash. Rather then make a mariachi record they aimed to create a mariachi inspired album.

Fast forward to January 2014. The band set up camp at Haunted Hallow Studios in Charlottesville, Virginia — a surreal private countryside location with absolutely no cellphone reception, but plenty of strange sculptures and miles of woods in every direction. Mariachi El Bronx (Matt Caughthran, Joby J. Ford, Jorma Vik, Brad Magers, Ken Horne, Vincent Hidalgo and Ray Suen) spent two weeks with producer John Avila (Oingo Boingo) cutting the meat of the album before returning to LA to wrap up the loose ends. Certain tones echo through this 10 song LP – the feel of a band coming into their own, extending the proverbial middle finger to tradition (and backing it up 100%).

Commentary of social unrest is prominent on tracks like “New Beat” and “Sixes And Sevens” and reflection on life experiences peppers the album with tracks like “Wildfires” and “High Tide.” “Nothing’s Changed” sees a surprise visit from DJ Bonebreak (X) on marimbas and harp virtuoso Willie Acuña (Mariachi Sol de Mexico) guests on “Raise The Dead.”

Mixed by Rob Schnaph, (III) is available on November 4th in all formats, including day-glo orange vinyl, via ATO Records in the US, November 3rd via PIAS Records in the UK and across Europe and November 7th via Cooking Vinyl Records in Australia and New Zealand.

]]>http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/mariachi-el-bronx/feed/0Pre-Order New Dawes Album / Band to Tour with Alison Krausshttp://atorecords.com/uncategorized/dawes-announces-new-tour-dates-with-alison-krauss-union-station/
http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/dawes-announces-new-tour-dates-with-alison-krauss-union-station/#commentsFri, 20 May 2011 19:00:58 +0000http://atorecords.com/?p=2285ATO Records and Dawes have launched a unique pre-order campaign that will allow fans to purchase the record in advance of release date and receive an immediate digital download of an exclusive three-song promotional EP, entitled Suitcase, featuring “Time Spent In Los Angeles,” and two B-sides from the album sessions, “All My Failures” and “Strangers Getting Stranger.”

Dawes fans are in luck. The band has confirmed 17 more tour dates, this time supporting Alison Krauss & Union Station. These dates will begin on July 27th in Danbury, CT and run through August 27th.

And if 17 more tour dates doesn’t sound like enough, you can pre-order their highly anticipated album, Nothing Is Wrong, which is due out on June 7th at www.dawestheband.com and receive an immediate digital download of an exclusive three-song EP titled Suitcase, featuring “Time Spent In Los Angeles,” and two B-sides from the album sessions, “All My Failures” and “Strangers Getting Stranger.”

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek have come together to create FICTION FAMILY.

The seemingly unlikely duo met a few years ago at a show featuring Wilco, R.E.M. Nickel Creek and Switchfoot. Over time, they began writing songs together, which quickly turned into a full-length album. As both Watkins and Foreman are vocalists and multi-instrumentalists, they often took turns singing lead vocals and they both play several instruments on each song, including guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, baritone ukulele, piano, organ, mandolin, steel guitar, 12-string guitar. Fiddle player Sara Watkins is featured on a few songs as well. Foreman explains, “The album was recorded and written in parts. Because Nickel Creek and Switchfoot are both hard working touring acts, we were rarely home from tour at the same time. Consequently the tracks were passed back and forth between Sean and I. Whoever was home from tour would chip away at the songs with no real expectations at all, mainly just for ourselves and for the love of the song I suppose. We came up with a few cowboy rules for the project: No double tracking. No pussyfooting. No tuning of vocals. etc… With very few exceptions, every note was written, arranged, played and recorded by Sean and myself.”

]]>http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/fiction-family/feed/0“Circuital” Live on VH1 Storytellershttp://atorecords.com/uncategorized/enter-to-win-tickets-to-see-bobby-long-webster-hall-519/
http://atorecords.com/uncategorized/enter-to-win-tickets-to-see-bobby-long-webster-hall-519/#commentsThu, 19 May 2011 15:41:31 +0000http://atorecords.com/?p=2195My Morning Jacket preformed thier new title song Circuital on VH1 Storytellers which you can stream by Clicking Here. The New My Morning Jacket Album Circuital is being released on May 31st.

In support of their new album My Morining Jacket will be kicking off their summer tour in Louisville, KY at the Palace Theatre on May 31st. That show will have a live stream for all the MMJ fans who are unable to attend. You can find out more information about the live stream by clicking here.